Coming Home

After a bit of an ordeal, we are now at the Hong Kong airport and waiting for our flight to San Fran, then to SLC.  Can't wait to be home!  Pray that Madeline is a good flyer, and please also pray for one of our travel families that has been delayed a few days.  Love you all!!!

Merry Christmas, from China

  

Today was Christmas Eve here, and instead of heading to Hong Kong for sightseeing tomorrow we stayed in Guangzhou one more night.


One of the receptionists told me that many people come to Guangzhou to celebrate Christmas, so there are hundreds of people walking the streets tonight, shopping and socializing, and the hotel seems even more full than it had.  We had a nice day, beginning with yet another bountiful breakfast buffet.  We then took another stroll down the park that runs the length of this very small island and found a small shop that gives all its proceeds to orphanages, the owner also an adoptee but here in China.  Also during our stroll we were stopped by a local named James, who asked us if he could practice his english, and we happily agreed to help.  His chinese name sounds a bit like "James", but he took on James as his english name, as some chinese seem to do.  He is 19 and goes to school at night, studying english and business.  He learned most of his english by watching american movies, his favorite being Will Smith's Men in Black.  He sounded very clear, so apparently american movies are not all bad!  He wanted to talk about basketball a lot, said baseball was boring (Kevin flinched at that one) and didn't know much about american football.  We talked about american customs verses chinese customs, and he asked if Kevin wanted to "be Father Nicholas", which I guess he was really asking if Kevin was going to dress up like Santa Clause.  I giggled a bit and said no, we would be here for Christmas, and said that Santa is popular in America but so is Jesus.  Here in China people just visit one another's homes and bring small gifts, but the celebration is not as important as it is in America.   He wants badly to visit America someday, I hope he gets that opportunity.

This afternoon we got Madeline all dressed up and took some pictures around the hotel and for the first time had a chance from our busy schedule to explore the hotel a bit.  In one lounge we found birds tweeting sweetly and Madeline really enjoyed them.  She looked fabulous in her red dress, but could have used a big flowered headband to make her a bit more feminine.  For the first time since we got her, I got a "tsk" from an older lady in the lobby to cover Madeline's arms, "she's cold!".  If only she knew we were going back to a foot of snow at home, this mild weather is nothing, but I just smiled and pretended I didn't understand.  

Tonight, on my way to Subway to get our Christmas feast of ham and turkey, I passed a vendor selling santa hats and headbands with devil horns on them that blinked, made me laugh.  In the restaurant downstairs they have a special party set up with New Year's Eve type hats and blinking table decorations that lean a bit gaudy.  We tried to get into the Catholic chapel today, but it was locked, and we can't seem to find out if they are having any masses or services today.  It's ok anyway because Madeline conked out at 5:30 pm, before I even got her pajamas on, poor baby.

Pictured are scenes from around the hotel, Madeline's new shoes we picked up last week that she loves, a way to big Christmas shirt she will not be wearing this year, and oh, yes, whole baked pigeons.  I had fun snapping some shots of the items in our room service menu.  

May you all have a wonderful Christmas celebration of Christ's birth and family togetherness.  We so look forward to celebrating once we get home from a long two days of travel.  Thankfully (sarcasm) Kevin is making me listen to Garth Brook's cheesy version of Silent Night, but has also put some really great Christmas songs on the computer to help get us all in the mood!  God bless!!

Winter in Guangzhou

Before the weather turned cool and cloudy we were able to have one really beautiful day.  It's been a while since we had 70 degrees in December!  Today and yesterday are significantly cooler and overcast.  The smog is much improved over the last city and the hotel rooms seem to be smoke-free, though no non-smoking sections in restaurants.  

There are many adoptive tourist shops here on the small island called Shamain, within Guangzhou.  They all have american names, such as Jennifer's, Sharon's, Susan's, Jordan's, on and on.  All the shops sell dresses, outfits, trinkets, all geared toward what an adoptive family would be wanting for their daughter, or occasionally son, though most is geared towards girls.  Some items we found were the infamous squeaky shoes, only found here in China, and a baseball hat that says brother in chinese.  Bartering is done some, though I must admit I am terrible at that and don't really do it, if De knew that he would shake his finger at me and say "Too much!",  but most items are truly inexpensive.  The annual salary for the general population here would be unthinkable in the U.S.  

Yesterday we ate at Lucy's Bar and Grill.  The inside was decorated a bit like an Applebees, with pictures of famous american movie stars all over the walls and license plates from different states in the U.S.  And of course, american music was playing.  I also treated myself to a Starbucks, and walking inside I was met with Ray Charles belting out 'Little Drummer Boy' and that familiar coffee smell, mmmm....  Overall, Guangzhou, or at least the island we are on, is very similar to Charleston, SC, but the buildings are taller and most words anywhere are in Chinese.  

Anytime we walk through a park here and in Nanchang, the posted rules are written in Chinese and in English.  However, I believe some of the meaning gets a bit lost in translation, here are a few of our favorites.

No Shoot Birdies

No Bugling

All boats must tie up to the dork

I sure feel sorry for all the dorks, having to lug around all those boats.....haha.  Today is our last day in Guangzhou, or so we think.  We are having a bit of a change in plans which I can elaborate more on later when I know more.  We are all doing great and anxious to come home to our family with its' newest member, she's a great addition.  Oh, and the White Swan gives each family a Barbie holding a Chinese baby, Mattel only makes them for this occasion.  Makes me laugh, mostly because I'm not so sure I can relate to Barbie, especially after the way I've eaten this week.  

This might be our last post, so we'll "see" you all back on American soil.  We hope to get a picture of all the babies on the infamous red sofa before leaving, but things are a bit busy so we'll have to work to get it in.  Love and hugs to you all, thank you for coming on our journey with us and for the wonderful messages and prayers.  

Hello Leo! Miss you so much....

Moving on

Greetings from Guangzhou!  After a much longer travel day from Nanchang to Guangzhou than any of us anticipated, we have arrived at the White Swan Hotel, where we will be until Wednesday.   Yesterday was a very difficult day, getting on a plane and knowing it wasn't to go home to the rest of our family was really hard.  Madeline had quite a few mommy tears christen her sweet little head during the trip.  I miss Leo so very much, but am so glad he is having the time of his life with Grandma, at home where life is comfortable for him.  

Our travel time was much longer than we expected, and we missed lunch, finally got dinner in our room at 8:30 pm.  I had a mommy brain-lapse and only packed one bottle's worth of food and a few crackers, normally I am way over-prepared for even the smallest excursions.  Kevin said he had to chip a notch out of the wooden beam of trust he has in my mommy 

prepared-ness, and I have to agree.  She was not the happiest camper until we finally got our bags at 7:30 and had a bottle.  But once we got to this beautiful hotel we all cheered up a bit.  

The hotel is amazing, on the level of hotels we would never, in real life, be staying at.  But this adventure is not real life, it is a surreal excursion with surprises at every turn and a happy ending for this very delighted family.  This is the hotel that all families come to for the final few days of their adoption process, so there are throngs of families here with their newly adopted children.  Thus, the hotel really caters to the adoptive families, as does the immediate surrounding area.  There are many small tourist shops down our street and very western foods at the buffets here in the hotel.  I had cereal and milk for breakfast this morning!   A small miracle....

Guangzhou seems to be more accustomed to westerners being here, and we are getting much fewer stares which makes us all more comfortable.  However, today, it was as if the paparazzi were at the market street where we shopped, and we all joked that we could end up in some Chinese publication somewhere.  No joke!  I do have to say that we do not see many children here, and if we do, only one per family, just as China policy permits.  So perhaps a group of 16 parents pushing strollers through a busy market does look a bit odd.  There are many young adults in their early 20's in this city of 11 million.  We took a tour of a museum today built in a much older, dynasty style architecture (think of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) with amazing carvings, furniture and embroidered pictures, and a very peaceful inner garden.  Very Feng Shui.  

I am still enjoying listening to the spoken language here, and today we watched a Charlie Brown special in Chinese (mandarin/cantonese not sure).  And the store we found to buy Madeline some Chinese dresses was playing 'O Holy Night' sung in Chinese, and other Christmas songs.  There are quite a few Christmas decorations here, but mostly lights and Santa Clauses, nothing religious.  

Madeline continues to change every hour it seems.  She can now put small pieces of food in her mouth with her own hand, she could not a week ago.  She continues to sit up really well, not falling over as much.  Even her cry has progressed into a bigger, more intentional cry, not so much of the moaning and sadness.  She is guzzling formula and eats solid foods really well, and I see her plumping up a bit.  She is also more comfortable without clothes, which was quite hard for her at first, so I'm hoping that helps her be more comfortable with baths, which she still hates with a vengeance.  There is one soft spot on the top of her head that is still open, about the  size of a stretched quarter, so we almost wonder if she is younger than we've been told.  She behaves much like a 6-9 month old, the birthdate we were given puts her at 13 months.  I am glad for some baby-ness left in her as I was sad I might have missed most of that.  She babbles dadadada, nananana and has a belly laugh to make your insides melt.  Tomorrow is her doctor appointment so we'll be curious how things check out there, and to experience Chinese medicine first hand.  She still cries herself to sleep, and goes a couple minutes longer each day, but I'm hoping once we stop moving her to new cribs  and sleeping arrangements she will adjust better.  She's a bit of a light sleeper and seems to hate missing out on opportunities to play with us or go out on the town.  Another social one, like her brother (Guh-Guh in Chinese)!  

One more note, our internet access is limited here, so we will not be able to post every day, hope I haven't spoiled you all!  I am so glad we can share this experience with you while it happens, and the journals are therapeutic for me as there is so much to absorb on this amazing trip.  

Last Day in Nanchang

Tomorrow we head to our next stop, Guangzhou, to do the American Consulate part of getting Madeline ready to be an American.  Today we went through all the paperwork and filled it out together.  There was a bit of a scare at first as some of the forms had been updated in the last few months, and all families but one had the expired forms.  Aack!  We were able to make copies and move forward, so hopefully it will be smooth sailing at the Consulate.  Our guides are De (pronounced Der) and Alicia, De speaks marginal english and Alicia speaks fairly well.  I don't think the mandarin or cantonese have the v or r sounds, so sometimes I have to focus.  For example, Madeline's middle name is LuRen, and they pronounce it LuLin.

The Jiangxi province that includes Nanchang as well as all the different cities all the babies of the group are from, is known for its porcelain, so today our local guide took us to a shop with beautiful tea sets, platters and 6 foot tall vases.  Most designs are handpainted, and some porcelain is as thin as paper, amazing.  We found a nice tea set for Madeline and will give it to her someday, when breaking it won't be so amusing.  The store owner also gave us each, as a gift, porcelain chopsticks, I'm sure Kevin will be using those at every meal.  We also found some Chinese tea, and I have to say, it is the best tea I've ever had, no need for sugar, it had a naturally sweet and full taste, mmmmm.....  

Kevin found a website that we think has some pictures of the orphanage Madeline is from on it, we are having trouble loading it but perhaps in the states it would be faster.

http://wharton.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album13

I think she was here adopting a few years ago.  We will not get to Yifeng, the city of Madeline's birth and where she spent her first year, and in fact we will not get to see any orphanage.  China Center for Adoption Affairs is very particular on letting visitors see the orphanages, seems to depend on their mood.  Yifeng Social Welfare Institute has a good reputation, and as Madeline seems to have been hand fed everything and carried a lot, I trust she was loved by her caretakers.  She has a happy disposition and loves people, especially men, did I mention that?

As far as our group goes, we are enjoying getting to know the other parents.  Most are first time parents, one other couple has a two-year old like us.  We are the youngest couple.  All the families are adopting one girl, boys can also be adopted but are not as common.  All the girls are within a few months of each other, I think there is one who is almost two.  The next hotel has a playroom for the kids so I am hoping to get more pictures of the girls together, it has been hard with us all so spread out in this hotel, and getting together during our free time has not happened as much, mostly during meal times.  

Every hour Madeline's personality comes out more and more.  She really does have a feisty side that for now is pretty cute, but I'm sure won't be in about a month, I'll let you know.  I think she'll be able to hold her own with Leo.  She laughs a ton, and loves to play games.  She plays the drop the toy game just to hear me say "Uh-Oh", and teases me with her crackers all the time.  Right now we are making silly faces at each other across the room.  She enjoys music and sometimes sings in a sweet small voice.  I'm used to Leo's preaching and bellowing, so this is quite the switch.  I do miss Leo's sermons.....

Awake again....

So I am awake again at three am, can not seem to sleep any later.  I even took a sleeping pill, so frustrating.  I'm exhausted every day by 7 pm.  So I'd thought I'd get on and post again, not much else to do aside from read my book in the bathroom as my flashlight is dying.  

Madeline, on the other hand, sleeps great so far!  She does have to cry herself to sleep, and occasionally cries out at night, but is good at comforting herself.  If Kevin or I try to comfort her during her routine, she gets very upset.  During the night tonight, however, I thought I was dreaming when I heard this in my groggy, drug-induced sleep.  She had woken up and was happily babbling and singing, it was the sweetest little sound I've ever heard!  I'll try to catch more of her babbling on tape today.  It's heart-melting.....

Yesterday the three of us headed out to the park again, this time it was even more swamped with crowds that thankfully seemed a bit less interested in us this time.  Just about anything and everything goes on in the park, from concerts, to card playing, small groups of people playing instruments we've never seen before and singing loudly, uninhibited.  Very noisy, even for a big city.  Then we headed to market to get more water, some snacks and yes, peanut butter.  We brought a jar, but are running low!  As I could not find it, I asked a sales clerk in "very slow english" as our guide recommended, and got nothing but laughs from the sales clerks who clearly did not care what I was looking for.  This was one of the only times I've felt uncomfortable with my obvious fish-out-of-water state.  We gave up on the PB and will try to find some in Guangzhou, an even larger city we are headed to next.   We really are trying out the local cuisine, we have no choice, but everything is fried or sauteed in heavy oil so my insides are craving fruit, vegetables and milk!  Tonight at dinner they had mini steamed whole octopuses on the buffet, they were cute but I couldn't get myself to try one.  

We also bought Madeline some new shoes, hers are too small, imagine that!  If I were to take her out in just socks here, I would for sure get disapproving clucks from mostly older women to dress our baby warmer.  So far we have not, but several moms in our group have gotten the shaking finger.  In buying the shoes, we had to take a receipt to the counter, pay for them, then go pick them up, then show the receipt of payment on our way checking out with groceries.  Interesting.  

Well, I suppose I should try for more sleep.  Hope you all are having a great day and enjoying the Christmas season!  It's hard to remember it's Christmas here.....

She's Gone to Warp Speed

It's hard to believe how fast Madeline is changing in a short amount of time.  Her muscles get stronger each minute, and she can now sit up on her own.  If she happens to fall over, though, she cries for help.  She still really hates being laid down for diaper changes and cries big crocodile tears that break my heart.  She smiles a ton, and today she played alone for longer chunks of time.....alone meaning she would sit on her own and we could sit a couple feet away.  She ate great again today, and is really digging the new bottles we got.  She is so very in love with her daddy, and I am thrilled as some of the other babies won't let their daddies near them, won't even let the daddies look at them.  I think she loves me too, but she is definitely a daddy's girl already.  Watch out Kevin!

Today we had a moving experience, one I'm not really sure how to describe.  We met our group at the usual time and loaded on the bus.  Our guide said we were going to a school, like a preschool really, and we would be in a rural area 10 minutes out of the city.  Once we were near the town, we stopped and were encouraged to buy 10 gifts each from each family for the children at this "school".  Then we drove a little further, parked and got out.  What we saw next I will never forget.  Cement houses are built in rows on heaps of dirt in this three street town.  This is the country, so animals roam freely, but as all the streets are clay and mud, all the animals are covered in mud as well.  A drainage system runs along the sides of the roads, and there are piles of brick and rubble in empty lots between houses.  As we walked up the desolate looking streets, I assume we are headed toward a school somewhere, but soon elderly men and women, mothers and children were popping out of their homes to wave to our large group of parents and strollers.  And these families, not children in a school after all, were the ones we were to share our quickly purchased "gifts" with.  Here I was in a convenience store buying bags of chips, little combs and mirrors, things I think little school children might enjoy, and really these gifts are for families with needs I will never be able to comprehend.  I could not stop myself from crying and had to turn my face away each time I held my measly gifts to desperate hands.  Then, here is where I was really moved.  I noticed that they did not seem sad, in fact they smiled and thanked us all so genuinely that I knew they must posses gifts greater than money can buy, gifts many others might take for granted.  They have their family all living on one street, and a life of simplicity that does not allow them to be distracted from the things that are most important.  They grow plants and raise animals and use skills that I could only clumsily attempt in order to bring their families together for meals and celebrations.  My first reaction was to feel guilty for having what I had when they have so little, but I soon realized that feeling guilty for a situation that I didn't help create only took away from appreciating that there is more to life than being comfortable and having my own needs met all the time.  I was reminded to look outside myself and see all the amazing stories around me behind the different faces I come in contact with every day.  

Getting to know you

We continue to learn more and more about Madeline and have discovered a few things.

1.  She has a feisty side, she knows what she wants and will scream to get it.  Typical one-year-old stuff, but we had not seen this side until this afternoon.

2.  She loves to play with things that make a crinkle noise, loves paper.  

3.  She mostly eats solid foods, doesn't like mashed foods, baby foods or formula too much.  But she is only used to being hand fed, doesn't know how to get food from her own hand to her mouth unless it's a cracker.

4.  She loves men, especially her daddy, smiles at him constantly and is always looking for his attention.  She lights up and giggles when she sees a man or group of men, it's really funny.  

5.  Her favorite color is pink!  Actually she just really looks good in it.  

6.  She has to cry herself to sleep and cry herself awake, goes "eh-neh" over and over to fall asleep.  Her cry sounds a lot like that of a four month old.  She sleeps with her arms straight out to the sides and can not roll over yet.

7.  She sometimes snores, poor Kevin, in a house full of snorers.  

8.  She likes to smile a lot, is content most of the time, but hates to lay on her back.  

9.  She's not too crazy about baths, probably did not have a real bath until now per Chinese custom.  We put her in the sink last night (so petite that she fit!) and she screamed the entire time.  

10.  She does not like to have her toes exposed, she's a modest one!

It seems like we are all growing more comfortable with each other every hour, and we are so thrilled to have her in our family.  

Today we had more sightseeing to the TengWang Pavilion, a building rebuilt about 30 times over the centuries.  It's the type of Chinese construction we'd thought we'd see more of here, but many of the buildings built in the last 30-40 years seem to be more about practicality than aesthetics.  The skyline is filled with tall, concrete, boxy buildings that house hundreds of people or offices.  Almost every available space is filled with housing, shopping or offices, not much green space here.  The Pavilion was really neat, we saw a show in a mini-theater of music and dancing, and saw good views of the city.  Again we attracted crowds, and one man asked for his picture to be taken with Madeline and I, which I said was ok, much to his delight.  Funny!  

After a nap, we decided to venture out on our own to the Super Walmart to get some bottles she favors.  However, this prospect had us a bit nervous as there would be one street to cross, and you may think this seems small, but crossing a street in China is like playing chicken with the cars, and guess who's the chicken?  We found an underground walkway much to our relief.  The sidewalks are constantly packed with people and motorbikes, and cars cutting through to an alley, so our walk to Walmart was like an obstacle course.  Outside Walmart there were several people with monkeys on leashes, and apparently someone was trying to get inside with one.  Once inside the store, the layout was very similar to American Walmarts except it was spread to 2 or 3 floors.  The only way to build here is up.  Other differences were found in the fish market where one could purchase fresh eels, turtles and frogs, and not for pets!  The meat market was loaded with racks of whole dead chickens fully intact, but looking like they were dehydrated, and long strands of link sausages. Most meat was not wrapped like we are used to, and just about every part of an animal was available for purchase.  The entire store was loud with lively chatter and clerks belting out sales over the loud speakers, music blaring from every direction.  Even Madeline had to plug her ears.  

Later at dinner Madeline finally began to show an appetite, something we'd been a bit worried about until now.  She ate everything we offered her, plus a 4 ounce bottle, much to our excitement!  Yesterday she had about 3 ounces of formula, one banana, and one egg, that was it.  The girl needs calories badly so we hope this new appetite is here to stay.  

Tomorrow we are headed out of the city to a rural area, should be interesting, and hopefully we can buy some souveniers as we have not had the chance yet.  We have only a couple days left until we head to our next stop.  

Pretty in Pink

I could hardly sleep last night, some because Madeline cried out several times, but mostly because I was so excited to see her again!  She is so precious and girly, even her cries are petite.  When we find a food she likes, she smacks her cute little lips to ask for more.  To help her gain weight we are trying to get her to take a bottle, wish we had some sippy cups with us, but we think she'd eat more from a bottle or sippy cup vs. an open cup.  And weight she needs!  Not sure if our scale in our room is right but it weighs her in at 12 pounds.  We have a doctor visit coming up in Guangzhou so we'll find out.  

Today we had sightseeing in the am, and went to a local park where we were quite an attraction.  Large crowds of people would surround our group, wanting to see the babies, making sure they were warm enough on this chilly day.  We had no idea what anyone was saying, but got a few thumbs up, along with some curious stares.  If not for the heavy pollution, I would love to spend more time here, I really love hearing the spoken language, it's like a song.  Every where we go there is loud conversation and everywhere we look there are interesting sights.  Traffic flow is crazy at best, I have seen very few traffic lights, and today we crossed the streets for the first time with the babies, that was really something!  Cars don't always stop for pedestrians, but thankfully have had mercy on this large, bewildered group of parents and strollers.  Honking horns go on day and night, constantly.  Many vendors are along sidewalks, we saw one changing oil on a motorcycle while simultaneously making noodles in a pot.  In the parks, large groups gather to do tai chi, or line dancing.  I love that the people here seem free and uninhibited, curious and warm.  There are endless things about this culture that are so very different from what we know in America that I wonder what they think when they come to the states.  All the people here seem so connected to each other and the community.  

Later we headed to a temple, very peaceful except for our babies, they did not seem to appreciate the tranquility!  

Now we have some time to relax until tomorrow, more sight seeing and possibly more paperwork of course.  But last night we signed the papers that legally bind Madeline into our family, yay!  After one last stop today in the crazy Walmart-like market, she is sleeping peacefully for a nap, as is Kevin.  I seem to be too excited to nap!  I am one happy momma....